Finance Minister Taro Aso on Monday sought to fend off the U.S. demand for a provision to prevent currency devaluations, saying currency issues should be handled by finance authorities, not in bilateral trade talks.

Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and U.S. President Donald Trump have agreed to leave it to their countries’ finance chiefs to discuss currency issues, Aso said.

“It has been the case that close communications should be made at the expert level when it comes to currency issues,” Aso told reporters after a Cabinet meeting.

U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said Saturday that Washington is seeking to include a provision to prevent competitive currency devaluations in any trade deal with Japan.

His comments came after Abe and Trump agreed in late September that the two countries will start negotiations for a trade agreement on goods.